NABC Chapter 298 Standoff
Chapter 298 Standoff
After several futile demonstrations, the camel finally turned its head away. Although it still shook its neck irritably, it no longer tried to rush towards Lin Feng and Vassim.
He just chewed mechanically with his thick lips, blood mixed with saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Wasim watched, holding his breath.
He could sense the change in atmosphere, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what had made the dangerous camel suddenly become more docile.
He looked at Lin Feng and only saw the calm lines and focused eyes on his companion's profile.
"That's enough," Lin Feng said in a low voice. "Hurry up and clean."
The two began to quickly clear the area around the "sandstorm." The tall camel would occasionally glance at them and make a low growl in its throat, but it ultimately did not show any further intention to attack.
........................
The two left the camel park, which was filled with dust and unease, and passed through an iron gate marked "Deer Valley".
The air suddenly became a bit more humid, mixed with the scent of grass, moss, and a slightly fishy smell unique to large animals.
Before you lies a more open woodland environment, simulating the edge of a northern forest, with soft mud and a specially laid humus layer on the ground.
Several elk were faintly visible in the distant woods, while the smaller sika deer were more timid. Upon hearing footsteps, they would nimbly leap away and hide behind tree trunks or bushes, leaving only pairs of wary eyes gleaming in the shadows.
Most striking of all were the moose resting near the edge of the fence.
They were true behemoths, their shoulders almost reaching the top of Vassim's head, their limbs as thick as pillars.
Especially the male deer, with its prominent nose, broad muzzle, and bulging shoulder muscles, exudes a primal, unassailable, and heavy pressure even when at rest.
One of the particularly tall male stags was grazing on a pile of hay, its massive, palmate antlers almost touching the ground. Each time it raised its head, its intricately forked, sharp-tipped antlers would slowly slice through the air, bringing a silent deterrent.
"The hay cart is over there." Lin Feng pointed to a metal hopper with wheels in the corner, which contained a mixture of hay, alfalfa, and some chopped tubers.
The two pushed the hopper and began distributing hay along the planned feeding points.
At first, things went smoothly; most of the deer showed cautious curiosity about their arrival or focused on the food itself.
Wasim was responsible for spreading the hay in the designated stone troughs or clean ground using a long-handled fork, while Lin Feng vigilantly observed his surroundings.
He silently noted down several sika deer with particularly bright left eyes and relatively easy-to-approach locations, as emergency targets should Rule 6 be triggered.
Just as Vassim scattered the last fork of hay near the area with the largest male moose, the moose, which had been chewing with its head down, suddenly stopped eating.
It slowly, with a heart-stopping calm, raised its head.
The pair of heavy, menacing horns rose with its movement, instantly casting a shadow over an area several meters in front of it.
It didn't roar or snort; it simply locked onto Vassim with its small, dark, deep eyes that seemed to absorb even light.
Then, its enormous head began to droop downwards in a slow and clear manner.
Its broad snout almost pointed to the ground, while its forehead, covered with intricate patterns and incredibly hard, was precisely aimed at Vassim's chest.
An indescribable chill instantly crept up Wasim's spine.
【Rule 3:】
If you observe any ungulate lowering its head and presenting its forehead to you for more than 5 seconds, immediately lower your head in the same manner, aligning your own forehead with itss, until it looks away.
This is not play, nor is it ordinary staring.
This is a... ceremonial standoff.
An invisible pressure permeated the air, as if the surrounding temperature had dropped several degrees.
"Lin Feng!" Vassim's voice was very low, but his tense tone revealed his high level of tension.
He glanced at Lin Feng out of the corner of his eye, but his body remained stiff, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary movement, for fear of being interpreted as "threatening, provocative or confrontational behavior" as strictly prohibited by Rule 2.
"Follow rule three!" Lin Feng's words were fast and clear. "Look down! Aim at it! Immediately! Don't hesitate!"
Wasim took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his instinctive fear and the urge to back away.
Trust in Lin Feng's judgment, and the decisiveness to execute orders in a crisis honed through his career as a criminal investigator, prevailed at this moment.
He gritted his teeth, his facial muscles contorting slightly from extreme focus and the struggle against fear, instantly revealing a fierce, almost monstrous expression.
This is not hostility towards moose, but rather the primal expression revealed when humans face extraordinary pressure, showing a high degree of mental concentration and a forceful suppression of instinct by will.
He tensed his neck and aligned his forehead directly with the center of the giant beast's forehead in front of him.
The gaze is forced to fall on the moose's thick forelegs and the soil on the ground, but all senses and mind are focused on that invisible "connection".
It was as if a cold, bestial bridge, through this bizarre "forehead-to-forehead" posture, had been erected between him and the forest behemoth.
Time seemed to stretch out in the deathly silence of the standoff.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Wasim could hear his heart pounding heavily and rapidly against his ribs in his chest.
He could clearly smell the strong scent emanating from the moose; he could even feel the faint heat emanating from its massive body, and a heavy, almost tangible will—
That was a cold inquiry originating from the wilderness, from the behemoths, from the primal laws.
Five seconds, six seconds, seven seconds...
A strange feeling began to creep over Wasim.
He felt a chill running down his spine from the skin on his forehead, which was "opposite" to the moose.
At the same time, a faint but clear, primal force seemed to be coming along that invisible line, trying to shake his will, make him back down, and make him admit defeat in this silent struggle.
Even more frightening, he seemed to catch a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that the other deer around him, who had been eating or watching, had all silently stopped moving.
They all turned their heads toward the center of the confrontation, their eyes, large or small, warm or deep, silently "watching" this strange duel between man and beast.
The entire deer enclosure was shrouded in a stagnant silence, with only the occasional rustling of leaves in the wind, which only served to accentuate the eerie atmosphere of the frozen state.
Ten seconds, eleven seconds...
Wasim's back was soaked with cold sweat, and veins were throbbing on his forehead.
He "heard" a low, humming sound that wasn't transmitted through the air; the sound echoed directly in his brain, causing dizziness and nausea.
"Hold on!" Lin Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it was like an alarm bell, piercing through Vassim's gradually blurring senses.
"It's testing your boundaries! Don't back down!"
Fifteen seconds!
Just as Wasim felt he was about to reach his limit, and the chill and "push" seemed to freeze his forehead and crush his spirit—
The male moose opposite, which had been as still as a rock, seemed to tremble slightly with its massive body.
Something subtly changed in its pair of dark, deep eyes.
Is that a kind of...recognition?
Immediately afterwards, the invisible pressure exerted on Wasim's mind receded like a tide.
The biting cold on my forehead vanished instantly.
The male moose slowly, with that same oppressive composure, raised its huge, lowered head.
It no longer faced Wasim directly with its forehead, but returned to its normal posture, as if the thrilling ten seconds had never happened.